Coast Guard Coordinates Rescue of 27 Mariners

The U.S. Coast Guard coordinated the rescue of 27 mariners on Saturday after their Venezuelan-flagged fishing vessel caught fire approximately 500 miles north-northwest of the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador.

At 3:51 p.m. PST, Saturday, Rescue Coordination Center Alameda received a notification from the Garmin Search and Rescue Command Center of an SOS distress alert from the 240-foot fishing vessel La Pena.

Using a crewmember’s satellite messaging device, Coast Guard watchstanders established communications with the crew and confirmed the vessel had caught fire and sank. All 27 mariners evacuated to the vessel’s emergency lifeboat.

The weather on scene was reported as 5-foot seas and 10-knot winds.

The crew reported they had no life jackets, food or water aboard the lifeboat. Their only means of communication was the satellite device, which had approximately 37 percent battery life remaining, or about 12 hours of use. The survivors were placed on a 90-minute communication schedule to provide position updates, answer questions and then power off the device to conserve battery.

Rescue Coordination Center Alameda issued SafetyNet and SafetyCAST broadcasts to alert nearby mariners and request assistance. There were no Coast Guard surface or air assets in the immediate vicinity.

An Automated Mutual-Assistance Vessel Rescue (AMVER) system query identified two vessels within 115 miles and 13 vessels within 575 miles of the distress position. Coast Guard watchstanders contacted the vessels and received a response from the motor vessel Seaways Kenosha, an AMVER-participating vessel located approximately 100 miles from the survivors, offering to assist. Coast Guard watchstanders began coordinating the Seaways Kenosha’s response to rescue the survivors.

At approximately 3:30 a.m. Pacific Standard Time, Sunday, the motor vessel Seaways Kenosha arrived on scene and safely recovered all 27 people from the lifeboat.

There were no reported injuries or medical concerns at the time of recovery. A previously reported injury was assessed as non-life-threatening.

Plans to transfer the survivors to shore are currently being coordinated.

“The outcome of this case is a direct result of the vigilance and professionalism of our watchstanders, who quickly pieced together limited information, coordinated with multiple domestic and international partners and directed nearby vessels to the scene,” said Capt. Patrick Dill, chief of incident management, Coast Guard Southwest District. “Their actions, together with the rapid response of motor vessel Seaways Kenosha, helped ensure 27 mariners were brought to safety from a life-threatening situation in a remote area of the Pacific Ocean.”

The AMVER system is a worldwide, voluntary ship reporting system sponsored by the U.S. Coast Guard that assists in search and rescue by identifying participating ships in the vicinity of a distress.